Alice Cooper: Ke$ha is ‘not a pop diva’

“School’s Out” screamer Cooper’s new album, “Welcome 2 My Nightmare” features several of the original Alice Cooper band mates along with Ke$ha, Buckcherry’s Keith Nelson, and Vince Gill.

Speaking to Billboard magazine, Cooper said of Ke$ha, “I met [her] at the Grammys … and I immediately looked at her and went, ‘This girl is not a pop diva. She’s a rock singer.’ She would much rather be the female Robert Plant than the next Britney Spears. [My producer] said, ‘Nobody’s gonna expect Ke$ha on your album.”Great! Let’s do it!'”

Cooper and Ke$ha teamed up for the tune, “What Baby Wants” for the male singing legend’s upcoming album, which drops September 13.

Considering Ke$ha’s hardscrabble upbringing, it’s unsurprising that she’s apparently no diva. Growing up, the MTV Europe Music Award winner reportedly lived off welfare payments and food stamps to survive. Even when Ke$ha appeared in rapper Flo Rida’s number one hit “Right Round” in 2009, the glittery blond still reportedly struggled to make ends meet. (RELATED: Ke$ha wants to skinny dip with Britney Spears)

Ke$ha, who stepped into the limelight in late 2009 after the release of catchy single, “TiK ToK,” publicly celebrates the party lifestyle and is often placed in the female pop music category. With this in mind, some might be surprised to learn that the California girl collaborated with rock star Alice Cooper.

“There’s a little bit of defiance in me,” Cooper said. “Even when my fans think they know what I’m gonna do, I’m like, ‘Whaddya mean I can’t put Vince Gill on the album?’ Nobody’s going to expect Ke$ha on my album so, great, let’s do it. I like the idea you still can’t put me in a corner and say, ‘This is what you’re gonna sound like.'”

Last month, the “We R Who We R” songbird tweeted, “ALICE [expletive] COOPER. or what i call him, dad.”